


Hot Cocoa

by DancingThroughTheRain



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV), ouat
Genre: Caretaking, Evil Queen | Regina Mills & Snow White | Mary Margaret Blanchard Friendship, Gen, Regina and Baby Neal, Regina taking care of Snow, Sick!Snow, Sickfic, Snow Queen - Freeform, season 6
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-19
Updated: 2017-06-19
Packaged: 2018-11-15 22:06:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,395
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11240208
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DancingThroughTheRain/pseuds/DancingThroughTheRain
Summary: Snow finds herself under the weather in the week leading up to the family's first Christmas together, and Regina unexpectedly spends the day taking care of her and looking after baby Neal. Set about a month after the end of Season 5.





	Hot Cocoa

Snow swallowed her cereal, trying to hide her grimace as it went down. Her throat had been hurting since the day before, and this morning, her nose had begun to run. She tried to brush it off, hoping she was just coming down with bit of a cold and nothing more. They’d been back from the Underworld for less than a month, and she had just gotten started teaching her new class, now middle schoolers. She hated to take a day off so soon.

David stood up and deposited his cereal bowl in the dishwasher after thoroughly rinsing it in the sink. He stretched and pulled his jacket off the rack, zipping it up as protection against the fresh falling snow.

“I should probably be heading out. There’s still a lot to clean up after Arthur’s short reign over this town.”

Snow stood up from her chair, kissing him on the cheek. He smiled elusively at her, mistaking her precaution as flirtation.

“I love you. Have a good day!” She smiled.

“And you,” He replied, pulling her into a hug, “Good luck with the kids.”

“Henry’s in my class. I’m sure we’ll be fine,” she said.

Charming blew her one last kiss before shutting the door behind him. Snow smiled and sighed, wrapping Neal snugly in his blanket and tucking him into his baby carriage before grabbing her purse. She paused on her way out, grabbing some tissues from the box beside the door. _Just in case_ , she thought.

She walked outside, sniffling as the cold air hit her face and tickled her nose. Realizing that she still had about 30 minutes to kill before she needed to be at the school, she detoured back to Granny’s diner for a cup of tea. She sat down in one of the booths toward the back of the diner and pulled Neal’s stroller up alongside her, glancing around the diner for the waitress.

Her mind must have wandered because Regina, who she hadn’t even realized had been in the diner, was suddenly in front of her. She must’ve just dropped Henry off at the bus stop.

“Mind if I join you?” she asked, gesturing to the bench across from Snow.

Snow first thought was _yes, I do mind_ , and the intensity of it shocked her. Of course she wanted Regina to join her for breakfast. Hadn’t she been dreaming of moments like this for most of her life?

“No, not at all,” Snow said smiling brightly while pressing her fingertips to the side of her head to alleviate her oncoming headache, “That would be wonderful.”

Regina smiled and slid into the booth across from her, but her smile faded as she took a closer look at Snow.

“Are you alright?” she asked.

“Oh, I’m fine,” Snow smiled, waving her hand and pushing aside the thought that maybe she shouldn’t go to work today, “I just have a bit of a headache.”

Regina raised her eyebrows, “You are allowed to take days off, you know. I’m sure no one minds after twenty-eight years of perfect attendance.”

Snow sniffled, “But they _would_ mind after three years of very _imperfect_ attendance. I’ll be fine, Regina.”

She glanced back towards the rest of the diner, and, finally making eye contact with the waitress, waved her over and ordered a hot chocolate. Regina didn’t order anything as she had already eaten breakfast with Henry.

Anxious to turn the subject from herself as they waited for the waitress to return, she turned to Regina.

“I’ve been thinking,” she began, watching as Regina raised her eyebrows but didn’t comment, “Most of the kids at the school aren’t from this world, and some of them may not always even be in this world. Physics isn’t going to be much help if they decide to return to the Enchanted Forest one day. They should know where they came from.”

“What are you saying?” Regina asked.

“I think we should make at least one class devoted to knowledge they would need in the Enchanted Forest and that we should apply more ideas from the Enchanted Forest in  the other classes. We could use archery to teach physics or tales from our land to teach literature.”

The waitress quickly returned with Snow’s cocoa, setting it on the table before her.

“Thank you,” Snow smiled as she lifted her cocoa to her mouth to take a sip.

She set it down just as quickly when the hot steam triggered an overwhelming tickle in her nose. Turning away from Regina, she sneezed twice into her elbow. All at once, her throat burned twice as badly and the dull ache in her head began to spread through the rest of her body. She sneezed again, this time twice as loudly, and the sleeping baby next to her began to whimper.

Regina watched her sympathetically from the other side of the table.

“Bless you,” she said quietly, “You should go home. Take care of yourself.”

“Maybe I should,” Snow muttered, immediately noticing the congestion in her voice. She hated to miss another day, but at the same time, she was feeling worse by the second and couldn’t imagine going into work only to pass this cold onto a classroom of middle schoolers, “I should at least drop Neal off at day care.”

Regina looked at her like she’d grown a second head, “Why do you need to drop him off if you’re staying home?”

Regina was right. There was no sense in dropping Neal off at day care if she was going to be home to take care of him. Were her thoughts really this cloudy already?

“Right. I guess I’ll bring him with me, then.” She said, standing up from the booth, “Have a good day at work, Regina.”

Regina rolled her eyes and pulled her purse over her shoulder, “Let me at least walk you back to your loft. I can push the stroller.”

Snow shook her head, “You shouldn’t. You’re going to be late.”

In typical Regina fashion, she ignored her and pushed past Snow to the front of the stroller. Snow was simply too tired to fight her, so she followed her up the stairs to her loft. As they got inside, Snow turned to Regina, ready to thank her for helping Neal and to tell her goodbye, but Regina closed the door firmly and locked it behind them. She then lifted Neal out of the stroller and walked him back over toward his crib.

Snow stared at her, puzzled. She thought Regina would just walk her to her apartment and then head to work, but it didn’t look like she had any intention of leaving. Feeling her nose tickle again, she raised her elbow and let out another pair of sneezes. Neal’s periodic whimpering turned to full on wailing, and Snow pressed her hands to her temples.

“Regina-“ she began weakly, but her former stepmother, who still had Neal in her arms, was already on it, gently rubbing his back and muttering words Snow couldn’t quite hear.

Within seconds, his cries had quieted and Regina placed him gently into his crib.

“Thank you,” Snow breathed in relief. She didn’t know if Regina had actually heard her, but she had more immediate priorities as she pulled a tissue out of the box on the coffee table and blew her nose.

“Not a problem,” Regina replied, sitting down next to her on the couch, “It always worked with Henry.”

Snow shook her head, “You should go to work. You must have a lot to do before the holidays, especially after the Underworld. I don’t want to keep you.”

 “I served as your stepmother for ten years, Snow. You think I can’t tell you aren’t feeling well from a mile away?” Her words were sarcastic, but her tone was soft, “I don’t have to go to work to get things done. I have my stuff. I’ll stay here with you and get things done while you relax. That way, I can help with Neal.”

Visions flooded her head of Regina’s glare after she asked her to spend the night with her as a girl when she’d come down with the same particularly bad flu as her father and Johanna one year or the time she’d had the stomach bug and Regina held the glass of water out to her as if she were a leper or the time when she’d stared at the pure fury on her stepmother’s face through the trees as she held a gloved hand under her nose to stop it from running. She’d wanted this for so long, dreamed of Regina returning to her, loving her again for so many nights, and even though Regina had now spent years doing anything she could to support and make it up to Snow and her family, the sight of Regina sitting on the couch next to her and looking through her paperwork as she watched over Snow and her horrible cold almost brought tears to her eyes.

***

She’d only planned to close her eyes for a moment in an effort to relieve her pounding headache, but when she awoke to the faint smell of chicken and spices, she knew she must’ve fallen asleep for quite a while.

Regina stood next to the stove, reading something off her laptop as she lazily stirred a spoon through a pot.

Snow’s nose tickled again and she sneezed quietly into her hand, but it was loud enough to make Regina turn to look at her.

“You’re awake.” Regina commented, “How are you feeling?”

“About the same,” Snow said, pulling the blanket tighter around her, “Are you making soup?”

“No, I’m boiling magic mushrooms,” Regina said, rolling her eyes, “Yes, I’m making soup. Are you hungry?”

“Sure, yeah,” Snow said, sitting up more on the couch. She actually wasn’t all that hungry, but if the soup could do anything to clear her sinuses, it would be worth it.

Snow watched as Regina turned off the stove and ladled some soup into a bowl before setting it on the coffee table in front of her. Snow grudgingly pushed the blanket off her arms so she could eat, shivering in the process. She grabbed her spoon and began eating. The soup tasted amazing. She was actually hungrier than she thought.

Regina smiled as she wolfed down her soup, “You missed lunch.”

Snow paused for a moment. How had she missed lunch? It had to have been 8:00 at the latest when she and Regina had come back to the loft. According to the wall clock, it was now after 1:00. How could she have slept for five hours?

A glance towards her bedroom reminded her that she hadn’t dropped Neal off at day care today. What had he been doing for the last five hours? He couldn’t have been asleep that whole time.

“Regina, did you-“ She began, but Regina interrupted her.

“Neal woke up shortly after you fell asleep, so we played for a while and I read him a book. I also fed him lunch. He’s down for his second nap now and should be for the next couple of hours.”

Regina had read to Neal and she’d never woken up? She must really have been out. Living in the woods as a bandit had made her a light sleeper, and she normally would have woken up at even the sound of Regina’s heels crossing the floor to get Neal. The idea that all this had happened and she’d never woken up was shocking to her, but wonderful.

“Thank you,” Snow whispered, pulling Regina into a hug.

Regina held her for a moment before Snow felt that familiar tickle in her nose and quickly jerked away to sneeze several times before grabbing a handful of tissues.

“Bless you,” Regina muttered, looking away from Snow.

“Thanks,” Snow said quietly, “Regina, you don’t have to stay. You have way too much to do before the holidays and I know you can’t afford to get sick. I _definitely_ don’t want you to be sick over the holidays. Neal and I will be okay until David gets home.”

Regina snorted, “You think _I’m_ worried about getting sick? You know I don’t get sick. I can count my sick days off work in the last thirty years on one hand. I’ll be fine.”

Regina had a point. Of all the winter illnesses that had swept through their castle in the Enchanted Forest, she could only remember Regina being sick once with a wracking cough and a fever that made her scream through the night. Snow could remember fearing for Regina’s life despite Johanna’s uncertain assurances that she would pull through, terrified that Regina would go the same way as her mother, long before her time and long before Snow was anywhere near ready to let her go. Thankfully, Johanna had been right and Regina had made it through after several tense days. She’d only returned to her cold, distant self, ignoring Snow’s excitement and relief that she was alright and telling her it was nothing to celebrate, a phrase Snow saw so differently now in hindsight, now that she realized just how little value her former stepmother placed on herself and her own life.

“What are you looking at?” Regina asked, bringing her back to the present reality.

“Nothing,” she smiled, “I’m just happy you’re here.”

Regina met her eyes for a fraction of a second before turning away and searching through her bag for something. Snow got the feeling that Regina had no idea what to say, but that was fine because she was here and that was what mattered.

“Do you want to watch a movie with me?” Snow asked, breaking the silence.

Regina glanced up from the paper she was reading, “Sure, if that’s what you want.”

Snow smiled as that was about as close to a yes as she knew she would get and reached for the remote to begin searching Netflix for a movie they could watch.

She finally found a suitable movie and turned to Regina, “Is this alright?”

Regina glanced up, “It doesn’t appear as though it contains singing birds, so it looks alright to me.”

Snow smiled at her sarcasm and started the movie, leaning back against the couch cushions. The movie wasn’t even five minutes in before she shivered and pulled the blanket more tightly around herself, but as soon as she was finally comfortable, she found herself twisting away from Regina and sneezing twice into the air next to her without enough time to untangle her arms from the blanket and actually cover.

Regina glanced over at her worriedly but said nothing.

She sniffled and burrowed down even more deeply into the blanket, shivering again. Blankets were supposed to trap her body heat, right? She had to get warmer soon.

 Regina glanced at her again before moving closer to her on the couch and resting one hand on Snow’s back and the other on her arm, “Here,” she muttered.

Regina must’ve been using some sort of magic, because a calm warmth flooded through her as soon as Regina touched her, starting from her hands. It felt as though she’d slipped on a warm, fluffy robe that had just come out of the shower while drinking a warm, steaming mug of hot chocolate.

She sighed in relief and was about to thank Regina when a huge sneeze tore through her. She tried to catch most of it in the edge of the blanket, but she wouldn’t doubt it if she’d sort of accidentally sneezed on Regina.

“I am so sorry,” she said to Regina, but she didn’t look angry or disgusted.

“Don’t worry about it,” Regina replied, still focused on the movie. She sent another flood of warmth through Snow, “Is that helping?”

“Yes.” Snow breathed in relief, “Is it some kind of magic?”

“It is,” she replied, “I learned the spell for Henry the last time he was sick. It seemed to help.”

“Well, thank you,” Snow replied, resting her cheek on Regina’s shoulder as they continued to watch the movie.

Despite her increasing tiredness, she actually managed to stay awake for the entirety of the movie. To her gratitude, Regina had stayed next to her and continued to watch the rest of the movie until Neal burst out crying during the last twenty minutes. Snow lifted her cheek from its resting place on Regina’s shoulder and glanced at the clock. It was after 3:30. They usually woke him up at 3:00 from his afternoon nap.

“I’ll get him,” Regina replied, getting up from her place on the couch.

The magical warmth immediately began to fade from Snow’s body, and she burrowed into the blanket for warmth again. As much as she wanted to be there for him, Neal’s crying was making her head pound, and her body chose just that moment to sneeze again, making Neal scream even louder.

“I’m sorry,” she muttered to no one in particular, shutting her eyes against the couch cushion as if that would somehow block out the noise.

“Hey, I’ve got this.” Regina said firmly, picking Neal up and slowly pacing the room while bouncing him and rubbing his back.

Just like before, Neal quickly quieted and even let out a giggle every now and then.

Snow smiled, “When I’m not contagious anymore and can dare to come within ten feet of him, you’re going to have to show me how to do that so fast.”

Neal giggled again and Regina smiled, really smiled, something Snow had seldom seen her do since Robin had died last month.

“How would you like something to eat?” Regina asked Neal, touching his nose playfully. Neal giggled again.

“It actually is time for him to eat,” Snow said, glancing at the clock again, but if Regina heard her, she didn’t acknowledge it, “Do you know where the food is? And the high chair? Do you need help?”

Snow started to get up from the couch to help her. The loss of the blanket made her shiver, and getting up after sitting nearly still for eight hours made the dull ache in her body more pronounced. She sniffled again, only to find that this time, her nose was completely blocked. The pressure in her sinuses made her head pound. It had been a while since she’d felt this bad. Maybe she had the flu or something.

“Snow, sit down.” Regina said the second she saw her getting up, “I’ve got this. You watch the rest of the movie.”

She turned to the pantry and began rummaging through it, trying to find the baby food. She’d already found the high chair and sat Neal down with a spoon which he was now busy playing with.

“Third shelf from the bottom on the far right,” Snow said tiredly, sinking back into the couch cushions before sneezing again into her hand.

Regina said nothing and quickly pulled out the baby food as if embarrassed about needing directions. She twisted the jar open with a magic that fascinated Neal so much that he forgot to be cranky while she was feeding him and ate the entire jar relatively quickly.

Snow continued to watch her. Regina almost seemed lost in her own world despite her smiles. It was as if she had gone back to the time of fourteen years ago and was feeding baby Henry all over again. She remembered thinking it was sweet that Regina seemed to keep baby Henry with her at all times and never even put him in day care despite her demanding job but simply brought him and a small bag of toys with her so that he could play while she worked. Snow had always wondered how she could act so kind and loving with Henry yet so snippy and insensitive with everyone else. Now, she knew. Regina loved Henry with every ounce of her being, and unlike everyone else had been at the time, she didn’t see him as a threat to her. There was no need for her to hide behind walls of defense.

She hadn’t needed them around Snow, either, not when they’d first met, but before long, her walls had shot up between Snow and everyone else, closing the girl on the horse off from the world entirely and leaving the Evil Queen in her place.

Watching her now, Snow was so grateful that she’d been able to take down most of her walls and give herself a second chance. Otherwise, she never would have come to spend the day keeping Snow company while she was sick on the couch and taking care of Neal. She might not even be here at all.

Minutes later, Neal finished eating, and Regina set him down in his playpen before rejoining Snow on the couch.

“Well,” she said, staring at Snow, “Do you want to see the rest of the movie?”

“Of course,” Snow smiled. She lifted the remote, pressed play, and sank back tiredly against the couch, pulling her blanket tighter.

The second the movie ended, Snow jerked her arm out from under the blanket and sneezed three times into her elbow. She groaned, already completely done with being sick, and grabbed a tissue out of the box next to her before her tickling throat made her burst into a coughing fit.

Regina took the remote from Snow’s free hand and turned off the TV before looking to Snow, “How are you feeling?”

Snow finished blowing her nose for the second time and took a sip of her cocoa which was now cold, “Worse than I did a couple hours ago. I can’t breathe,” she sighed, “I’m so done with being sick.”

“Be glad it’s just a cold and nothing worse,” Regina said darkly, “I’d rather die than get pneumonia again.”

Snow looked at her in confusion. She barely had a memory of Regina being sick much less having something as serious as pneumonia. It had to have been when she was younger, before Snow knew her. In that case, Regina wouldn’t have had access to antibiotics or any other form of modern medicine in the Enchanted Forest, and she certainly couldn’t see Cora as being much of a caretaker. For a second, she forgot how bad she felt as her heart ached in sympathy for Regina.

Snow stared at her, “You had pneumonia? In the Enchanted Forest?”

Regina snorted, “I was twelve. Apparently, it served me right for sneaking out at night to play in the snow. It was nearly a month before she even _tried_ to do anything about it.”

Snow certainly didn’t need to ask to know who _she_ was. “Regina, I’m so sorry.”

“It doesn’t matter. It means nothing.” Regina muttered, “I never get sick anymore, and if that had anything to do with it, it was worth it.”

Snow still felt bad for her, but there was nothing she could do now, and from the tone of her voice, Regina was done having this conversation. She decided to change the subject.

“You should come Christmas shopping with us,” Snow said. Regina raised an eyebrow and looked at the used tissue in her hand, “When I’m better, I mean. You and me and Emma should all go Christmas shopping together.”

“Wouldn’t it be a bit late by then?” Regina asked, staring at her, “It’s December fifteenth. Christmas is essentially next week.”

Snow shrugged, “What’s wrong with waiting? If it bothers you, or you’ve already done most of your shopping, which I feel like you have,” she smirked, “You should still come with us. It’ll be fun.”

“Alright, I’ll come,” Regina replied, and it was obvious that she was more eager to come than she let on, “Though I can’t promise I’ll actually be buying anything.”

Snow quickly nodded at her before sneezing twice and attempting to sniffle through the congestion. It seemed that it got worse every time she sneezed, which made her headache worse as well.

“And we’re definitely waiting until you’re feeling better. An epidemic is the last thing we need.”

Snow smiled again. She had come to appreciate Regina’s sass.

Even through her stuffed up ears, she could hear the turning of the key in the lock, signaling David’s return home. The door opened, and he stopped as soon as he saw Snow cuddled under a blanket on the couch with Regina and what probably looked to him like half her office beside her.

“Hey, Charming,” she smiled, but even she could hear the blatant congestion in her voice.

“Mary Margaret, what’s going on? Are you sick?” He hurried over to her.

“Sort of,” she sniffled, “I have a really bad cold. But Regina’s been here. She made soup, and she’s been taking care of Neal.”

He sat down on the other side of her and pulled her into a hug, “I knew there was something off about this morning when you didn’t kiss me! How are you doing?”

“I kissed you!” Snow said defensively, “Just not on the lips.”

She noticed Regina pulling her things together as if to head out.

“You should stay, Regina,” Snow said quickly, “You should watch another movie with us or something.”

Regina shook her head, “I didn’t realize how late it was. I should have been home twenty minutes ago. Henry’s probably wondering where I am.”

“Oh,” Snow muttered. She’d sort of forgotten about Henry, “Well, thank you for staying. Thank you for everything. I know you had a lot to do, and-“

“It’s fine,” Regina replied before she finished, “Just call if you need something.”

“Yeah, of course,” Snow said. She meant it too. It might be selfish, but it was nice to get to spend the day with Regina.

“Feel better,” Regina nodded to her before poofing out of the room.

Snow smiled as she disappeared. Even though it had been over three years now, she would never stop being grateful to have Regina back as her friend. In fact, she would never stop being grateful to have Emma back either, or Charming, or to have Henry and Hook and Neal and all the rest of their family in her life. This was going to be the first Christmas that they all would be together as a family, and Snow couldn’t wait.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! Please, please leave a comment and let me know what you think!


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